


Online Friends

by Kerriathechosen1



Category: Penumbra (Video Games)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Amabel deserves happiness, Attempt at Humor, Cute, Cute Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, One Shot, Online Friendship, Philip deserves happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23714197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerriathechosen1/pseuds/Kerriathechosen1
Summary: Philip and Amabel met each other online years ago when they were both desperate for a new friend.Now, they're the most important thing in each other's lives.Should they risk the perfection of their friendship to try something more?
Relationships: Philip LaFresque & Amabel Swanson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	Online Friends

Philip pushed open his front door and breathed in the ocean scent from the air freshener sitting on the counter. He stepped around the door and leaned backwards against it until it closed, turning the lock and letting out an exhausted sigh. Trudging over to the coat hangers, he slipped off his jacket and gave it a sniff, disgruntled to find that it still smelled like dog. He’d been unfortunate enough to be attacked by a large and energetic canine on the walk home from work. The retriever surely hadn’t meant any harm — it was his fault for buying a freshly cooked hot dog on his way back — but the dog still shouldn’t have kept licking his face and treating his hot dog like a chew toy. Now Philip was tired  _ and  _ hungry.

The silence in his small townhouse was comforting, but by force of habit, he called out, “Alexa, play classical music, full volume” as he headed down the hall, flicking off his shoes into the corner of the living room as he passed by. All the floors in his home were polished wood, covered in some spots by handmade rugs he’d bought at festivals. Pictures lined the walls, but none were of him or his family; most of them were physics or nature-related, reflecting his love for the sciences. As he reached his bedroom, Beethoven began to play in the background, which was about as soothing to him as a cup of cocoa in the winter. Which actually didn’t sound like a bad idea right now, especially with the demanding grumbles spouting from his gut — but Philip had a more important matter to attend to.

Philip entered his room and plopped himself down on the spinning chair at his desk. He dropped his carry-bag and zipped it open, pulling out his black ThinkPad. Philip pressed his finger against the sensor pad, waiting for his print to be read, and then pulled up Discord as soon as the home screen appeared. He saw the red alert immediately and felt himself smile. SwanSong#2001 had sent him a message, asking, “Have I ever told you what I hate most about my job?”

His smile fell as he typed back. “Death helps us learn. Rough day?”

“Well, the hospital hasn’t had any patients leaving us today, but I’ve about lost  _ my  _ patience with some of my colleagues. If I didn’t know the best forensics teams lived right outside my door, I’d be planning murder about now.”

Philip’s smile returned, as he shook his head. “You wouldn’t.” Swan was the most kind-hearted woman he knew. He’d never met her in real life, but he couldn’t deny feeling sparks of attraction toward the woman on the other side of the conversation. He’d known her longer than he’d known his own father. He’d discovered her through a dating app, looking for friends and nothing more after a few lonely drunk nights following his mother’s passing. She hadn’t known a single thing about him, but she offered him gif hugs through the internet and listened patiently while he bore his soul out to a stranger. No one had ever been so kind to him in his life, not even his own family. That was a gift he’d spend the rest of his years trying to pay back.

That wasn’t the only thing that drew him to Swan, though. They were more similar than he’d originally thought. She had a sense of humor, though much softer and sweeter than Philip’s harsh sarcasm. And they were both intrigued by science — Philip had become a physics professor while she had become a chemist. They made periodic table-related puns on a daily basis and shared memes they’d found online or through Philip’s students. Philip had yet to know her real name, because he’d been terrified of asking and shattering the trust and companionship they’d built up. Sometimes he wasn’t positive he even wanted to see her face, because he’d already build up an image of her in his mind, and Philip wasn’t a fan of change.

The only good change to come out of his life was  _ her _ . Years had passed, but every day they were there for each other, and that assurance made it easier for Philip to get through the day. She was his spark of light in the tunnel of life.

And as time went on, Philip had learned, to his surprise, that he was hers as well.

***

Amabel let out a happy sigh as she dropped into her bedroom’s spinning chair. She spun around in circles as she collected her thoughts from the day and waited for her laptop to power back on. She wore a pink heart necklace at the base of her chest. Her flaming red hair brought out the soft blue in her eyes. She wore khaki dress pants and a sky blue t-shirt.

As soon as she spun around to face the desk again, she squirted a quarter-sized glob of hand sanitizer from her desk into her hands and began rubbing. As a chemist assisting in the medical field, it never hurt to be a little careful.

Amabel lived in a small apartment in the city, within walking distance of her work. She was a spry woman in her early thirties, but she still carried with her the hope and optimism that made her stand out from her peers in high school. Her room’s walls were as white as the hospital where she sometimes worked, but she had them decorated with string lights, calming art, and a few band posters she’d won at fairs in the past.

It wasn’t that Amabel’s life was necessarily perfect; she dealt with hardships at her work and suffered losses in her past, which left her relatively alone in life. When a coworker suggested making an account on a dating app, she thought she was crazy. It wasn’t that she wasn’t open to dating, but it felt premature when she didn’t even really have a friend. And she wouldn’t date anyone who wouldn’t be drawn to her for friendship, anyway.

That was how met PhysicsCannon#7019, otherwise known as Philip Buchanon. She smiled lovingly at the thought of him, resting her chin atop her wrists. He was very smart, but she was a tad bit smarter, it seemed; she’d put up a fake name on the dating site, and so had he, but when he used his mother’s last name and his father’s first name, and claimed that he was a physics professor — well, it wasn’t too difficult to google his identity. Over time, she’d become rather charmed by his dry, witty humor and the soft compassion he gave her in times of need. She might even say she was beginning to love him, but that seemed a bit of a stretch. How can you love someone you’ve never met in person?

Still, she adored their conversations. As soon as her Discord server popped up, she typed in the first message.

“Have I ever told you what I hate most about my job?”

Then she switched tabs, leaned back, and waited for the response ping. Philip got off work first, but he had a further walk than she did, and he always seemed to make stops on his way home. At the start of their relationship, she wondered if it were just an excuse to not be online with her so often, but at this point she had no doubt he felt the same growing affection toward her that she felt toward him.

She heard the ping, and excitedly switched screens. “Death helps us learn. Rough day?”

Amabel knew, scientifically, that butterflies didn’t actually exist in her stomach, but she now understood why this feeling was described that way. She felt proud, embarrassed, and happy beyond words that he paid attention to her enough to know so much about her.

“Well, the hospital hasn’t had any patients leaving us today, but I’ve about lost  _ my  _ patience with some of my colleagues. If I didn’t know the best forensics teams lived right outside my door, I’d be planning murder about now.”

“You wouldn’t.”

She laughed out loud. What did he think she was, some angel? But he was right, after all. He knew her about as intimately as she knew herself. She was honestly surprised he hadn’t figured out her name yet. Perhaps he’d been respecting her privacy; he did seem to value such things.

“You might be right. And maybe not. My lab partner’s such a pessimist, and I’m afraid his anger towards the world is rubbing off on me. Sooner or later I’ll be the stereotypical mad scientist.“

“The day you become a mad scientist is the day I turn my back on the world and become a supervillain.”

Amabel snorted. “Well, I suppose I’m flattered.”

Philip didn’t respond, and she might have been imagining it, but it felt like a comfortable silence had fallen between them. They’d moved past the awkward stage of hesitant typing and staring for minutes at the screen, not sure how to respond. Amabel wondered if she was ready to take it one step further, to actually take a chance and meet him in person. She wasn’t sure she wanted to ruin their pure online friendship. But things couldn’t always stay the same; things had to change eventually. And a part of her truly hoped the story of their lives ended together; it all started with one hesitant first step, like signing up for the dating app. This could be the first step to a better future, one in which she never had to be alone.

After mulling it over for a few seconds, she typed her thoughts. “I wonder when I’ll get to meet you.”

There was a twenty-second delay, and then she saw the dots that told her he was typing a response. “Same.”

“You know, you turning up on that site was probably the best thing to happen to me in years -- possibly my lifetime. You’ve meant a lot to me.”

The pause was shorter this time. “You  _ are  _ the best thing to happen to me.”

Her heart swelled. Her confidence was beginning to grow, and in the heat of the moment, she took a leap. “How about a blind date tomorrow evening? The anticipation has been building for quite some time. I’m not sure how much longer I can wait.”

She pressed ‘send’, and immediately regretted it. Philip was far more reserved than she was, without a doubt. She knew how much he despised change, and how much it scared him. What if this was too much for him?

“I’m sorry,” she quickly typed, before he had the time to make his decision. “Forget what I said.”

“No, it’s fine. I’d be glad to meet you in person.”

She let out a heavy breath of relief. Then, she inhaled deeply, just to slowly let the air out afterward. She was smiling widely and blushing, but her body was on nervous energy now.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to push you into it before you’re ready.”

“I’m sure. More sure than I’ve been in anything before.”

Amabel held back a squeal of delight. She loved him; she really did.

“Well, then I suppose I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

“What should I call you? How will I know it’s you?”

“Amabel. Amabel Swanson,” she typed, and whatever guard she’d had up had completely fallen. She typed one last sentence before collapsing in her bed and squealing into her pillow.

“See you tomorrow, Professor. Prepare for the biggest hug of your life.”


End file.
